Much of Africa’s “post-colonial” history has been characterized by a struggle between democratic and anti-democratic forces. Today the former are now mostly ascendant on the continent, but the tendencies are not uniform.1 With at least five successful coups in four countries between 2020 and 2023 (Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso x 2, and Niger), the West African region accounted for the vast majority of all the unconstitutional changes of government (UCGs) that occurred on the African continent over the five years between 2020 and 2025. These developments occurred despite a decades-long effort on the continent to elaborate and institute robust regional international law frameworks prohibiting UCGs. They also transpired despite efforts by the relevant continental and sub-regional bodies to sanction actors that offend against the anti-UCG rules enunciated in the relevant regional legal texts. Thus, especially in West Africa, there has been an appreciable degree of dissonance between the robustness of the normative framework that prohibits and seeks to sanction UCGs, and the contrary socio-political realities on the ground. This essay explores the law on UCGs underpinning this dissonance—the most interventionist aspect of Africa’s international law of democracy. It examines the nature, gaps, and challenges of the implementation of Africa’s regional international law on UCGs. The essay begins by briefly mapping the terrain covered by the generally robust regional normative framework for dealing with UCGs on the African continent, locating its sources, discussing its content, and analyzing its significance. It thereafter turns its attention to the gaps and challenges that have afflicted attempts to implement this normative framework—focusing on the problems that have been experienced by the African Union (AU) and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) sanctions regimes that have done the most to faithfully implement the continent’s regional international law on UCGs. The essay ends with brief concluding remarks.

In this paper we present a wide-field radio survey at 300 MHz covering the sky from $-90^{\circ} \leq \delta_{\text{J2000}} \lesssim {+40}^{\circ}$ using the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA). This 300-MHz survey follows the Galactic and Extragalactic All-sky MWA (GLEAM) survey and provides an additional comparatively high-frequency data point to existing multi-frequency (72–231 MHz) data. With this data release we provide mosaic images and a catalogue of compact source components. We use two-minute snapshot observations covering 2015–2016, combining overlapping two-minute snapshot images to provide full-sensitivity mosaic images with a median root-mean-square noise of ${9.1_{-2.8}^{+5.5}}$ mJy beam$^{-1}$ and median angular resolution of ${128^{\prime\prime}8} \times {112^{\prime\prime}5}$, with some position-dependent variation. We find a total of 338 080 unique Gaussian components across the mosaic images. The survey is the first at 300 MHz from the MWA covering the whole Southern Hemisphere. It provides a unique spectral data point that complements the existing GLEAM survey and the ongoing GLEAM-eXtended survey and points towards results from the upcoming SKA-Low surveys.

Both in Italy and abroad, the construction of memorial shrines to honour those who fell for the Fascist cause stemmed from Benito Mussolini’s desire to create symbolic spaces to celebrate Italian greatness. Moreover, their construction reinforced a specific vision of the nation – one rooted in the ideal of sacrifice, unquestioning loyalty to Mussolini’s commands, and the exaltation of violence as a legitimate tool of political struggle. This article analyses the tower-ossuary of the Italians in Zaragoza, a monument commemorating the legionaries of the Corpo Truppe Volontarie, who died fighting alongside Francisco Franco’s Nationalist forces against Republican troops during the Spanish Civil War. Despite its limited recognition, this monument – the largest Italian shrine abroad after that in El Alamein – constitutes an object of significant scholarly interest, since it preserves the memory of Fascist Italy’s intervention on behalf of the Caudillo according to a particular narrative, which Mussolini’s regime sought to immortalise for posterity in stone and concrete. Meanwhile, the attempt to re-signify this shrine after the fall of the Fascist dictatorship makes it a compelling case study for reflecting on the processes through which a society can rethink its history and engage with the legacy of its authoritarian past.

Children with moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) have an increased risk of iron deficiency, anaemia and death from infectious diseases. The iron-regulating hormone hepcidin is increased in inflammation and may be important in regulating iron metabolism in children with MAM. Asymptomatic malaria has previously been associated with elevated s-hepcidin. We assessed the association between inflammation, iron status, anthropometry and malaria and serum hepcidin (s-hepcidin) and evaluated the effect of food supplementation on s-hepcidin in a secondary analysis in 1019 children with MAM from a randomised intervention trial in Burkina Faso. Children received 12 weeks of supplementation of 500 kcal/d as either corn–soy blend (CSB) or lipid-based nutritional supplements (LNS). S-hepcidin was measured at baseline and after 12 weeks. At baseline, correlates of s-hepcidin were determined using Tobit regression. The effect of supplementation was determined using mixed effects Tobit regression. Children with iron deficiency had 82 % (95 % CI 76, 87) lower s-hepcidin than those without, whereas children with acute infection and inflammation had elevated s-hepcidin. Children with symptomatic malaria had 103 % (95 % CI 32, 210) higher s-hepcidin than afebrile children without detectable malaria, while children with recent or asymptomatic malaria had 51 % (95 % CI 35, 63) lower s-hepcidin. S-hepcidin increased 61 % (95 % CI 38, 87) after 12 weeks of food supplementation with 22 % higher (95 % CI 2, 45) concentration in those who received LNS compared with CSB. Expectedly, morbidity and inflammation were associated with higher, and iron deficiency with lower, s-hepcidin. Further studies are needed to corroborate the finding of decreased s-hepcidin in malnourished children with asymptomatic malaria.

The majority of dogs in US animal shelters are of mixed breed. Many animal shelters still use visual identification to assign breed labels, despite research indicating it to be largely inaccurate. Some shelters now include personality descriptions in conjunction with, or instead of, breed labels. However, little is known about the interaction between these factors. Thus, the aim of this study was to experimentally evaluate the impact of breed labels and descriptions on the perceived adoptability of dogs. Participants, recruited both in-person at a shelter and online, were shown ten dog photos, and indicated how likely they were to adopt the dog. The photos were randomly presented under four conditions: (1) photo only; (2) photo with breed label; (3) photo with description; and (4) photo with both a breed label and description. Overall, descriptions significantly increased perceived adoptability, while breed labels decreased it. Certain breed labels, such as ‘Chihuahua mix’, ‘Chow mix’, ‘Jack Russell Terrier mix’, ‘Miniature Pinscher mix’, and ‘Terrier mix’, negatively impacted adoption ratings, while ‘Lab mix’ had a positive effect. Descriptions like affectionate, calm, eager to make you proud, easy-going, friendly, lively, non-dominant, and sociable improved perceived adoptability, whereas energetic reduced adoptability. There were no significant interactions between breed labels and descriptions. Additionally, there was substantial individual participant variability in adoption interest across photos. These findings suggest animal shelters might increase adoption interest in dogs by removing breed labels and including positive descriptions in dog adoption profiles. Such changes may contribute to improved animal welfare by reducing shelter length of stay.

Low-dimensional representation and clustering of network data are tasks of great interest across various fields. Latent position models are routinely used for this purpose by assuming that each node has a location in a low-dimensional latent space and by enabling node clustering. However, these models fall short through their inability to simultaneously determine the latent space dimension and number of clusters. Here we introduce the latent shrinkage position cluster model (LSPCM), which addresses this limitation. The LSPCM posits an infinite-dimensional latent space and assumes a Bayesian nonparametric shrinkage prior on the latent positions’ variance parameters resulting in higher dimensions having increasingly smaller variances, aiding the identification of dimensions with non-negligible variance. Further, the LSPCM assumes the latent positions follow a sparse finite Gaussian mixture model, allowing for automatic inference on the number of clusters related to non-empty mixture components. As a result, the LSPCM simultaneously infers the effective dimension of the latent space and the number of clusters, eliminating the need to fit and compare multiple models. The performance of the LSPCM is assessed via simulation studies and demonstrated through application to two real Twitter network datasets from sporting and political contexts. Open-source software is available to facilitate widespread use of the LSPCM.

Creatine is a vital bioenergetic compound that remains largely overlooked within food systems despite its well-established role in human health and performance. Unlike creatinine – a downstream breakdown product of creatine metabolism commonly measured as a biomarker of kidney function – creatine functions as an energy buffer, facilitating the rapid regeneration of ATP in tissues with high metabolic demands such as skeletal muscle, brain and heart. Although a portion of daily creatine requirements is met through endogenous synthesis, dietary intake – primarily from animal-source foods – remains essential to maintain optimal physiological levels. Emerging evidence indicates that suboptimal creatine status, or creatine insufficiency, may be widespread, particularly among vegetarians, vegans, older adults, individuals with chronic illness and those with increased energy needs. This paper examines the evolving role of creatine across four domains: its natural occurrence in foods, incorporation into fortified food products, use as a dietary supplement and potential future classification as a pharmaceutical agent. Special emphasis is placed on differences in regulatory status, intended use, dosage, labelling and public health implications. In light of mounting evidence that creatine insufficiency may contribute to adverse outcomes – including impaired cognition, reduced muscular performance and vulnerability to stressors – integrating creatine into food policy and nutrition strategies represents a promising, scalable and preventive approach to improve population health.

Scholarship on regulatory capture—when businesses lobby regulators to act contrary to the public interest—has thrived since the 1970s. Yet it ignores an important dimension of influence, what we call ideological capture. This occurs when experts design regulatory frameworks that marginalize important public values and produce favorable outcomes for special interests even in the absence of lobbying. We present a theoretical and empirical framework for understanding ideological capture, rooted in expert–public cleavages, and measure its presence in an important policy domain (antitrust review of business mergers) with an original survey of the public and of antitrust lawyers. Our results suggest that the main framework for evaluating anticompetitive conduct, the consumer welfare standard, marginalizes important public concerns but is deeply popular among antitrust lawyers. With prior work showing the standard arose not from conventional processes but from judicial and bureaucratic activism, we conclude that antitrust policy evidences ideological capture.

Despite being one of the most critical agricultural inputs, chemical fertilizers are often misused by farmers in developing countries due to limited knowledge of proper nutrient management. Understanding current fertilizer application practices is essential for improving efficiency and enhancing crop productivity. This study examines the adoption and determinants of the 4R nutrient stewardship principles (also referred to as best management practices) – applying the right fertilizer source, at the right rate, at the right time, and in the right place (4Rs) – among major cereals (rice and maize) and vegetables (cauliflower) in Nepal. Using a multivariate probit model, we analysed data from 926 surveyed households across 11 districts. Our findings reveal that only 30% of farmers used the right fertilizer source supplying nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K), while just 7% applied these nutrients at the right time. Additionally, 19% of farmers placed fertilizers correctly, and only 6% applied nitrogen at the right rate. Key factors influencing right nutrient management practices include gender, age, educational level of the household head, access to credit, smartphone ownership, and proximity to cooperative offices. Farmers with small landholdings, more years of farming experience, access to smartphones, and those who borrow agricultural loans are more likely to apply the right rate of nitrogenous fertilizers. The factors contributing to excessive use of nitrogenous fertilizers vary by crop type. Given the low adoption rates of 4R soil nutrient management practices, agricultural policies in Nepal should prioritize promoting these best management practices to enhance fertilizer efficiency, optimize yields, and improve long-term soil health.

Rural primary care providers report increasing rates of professional burnout, which can further exacerbate rural provider shortages and health disparities. From 2023 to 2025, the Project ECHO team at Penn State University developed and delivered an educational rural health telementoring program, collaboratively with stakeholders, to disseminate guideline-concordant care to rural primary care clinicians. The program focused on key rural topics and created a professional learning community aimed at decreasing participant burnout. Self-reported results of the pilot program’s participants (n = 106) demonstrate increased knowledge (p < .001) and reduced professional isolation. Future programing will expand data collection to explore longer-term impact.

In 1864, Umar Taal, one of the most consequential figures of nineteenth-century West Africa, perished in Maasina (Mali), a region he had conquered two years prior. Historians have studied the political and intellectual underpinnings of Taal’s last conquest, but not its ramifications inside families. Exploring colonial-era migrations and marriages in my own family in Mali, I suggest intimate history as mode of historical inquiry and writing to elucidate the afterlives of war. I provide a translocal and gendered microhistory of the aftermath of Taal’s jihad, showing how the ripples of past Islamic revolutions shaped the intimacies of twentieth-century family life.

This essay considers major landmarks in the development of a norm on democracy in Africa and the elevation of democratic participation into a standard of continental significance. There are at least two—potentially contradictory—reasons why this is important. First, it calls into question suggestions that governmental legitimacy is an exclusively local matter. Second, this transition may also raise complicated questions regarding democratic deficit when regional institutions are seen to insert themselves into domestic political processes or to oversee them. While regional institutions can no longer abdicate jurisdiction in disputes over governmental legitimacy,1 they may nevertheless suffer constraints as to the scope of remedies that they can offer in such situations. The trajectory of a continental law of democracy for Africa could depend on how it navigates these tensions.

Francesco Costabile’s Una femmina (2022) challenges traditional notions of masculinity and femininity embedded in the ’Ndrangheta and patriarchy at large. This analysis examines the construction of some of the key characters in Una femmina while reflecting on motherhood and female agency – two central topics in sociological research on gender and organised crime. The essay considers the power dynamics underlying these themes and explores the film’s aesthetic choices, which express a gynocentric perspective through a psychological exploration of its central female characters.